[Food + Drink Wednesdays] Pumpkin Spice Latte

Carrie is in the middle of planning of Pie Speakeasy and I am sooooo proud of her! She has been baking, shopping, planning, and networking, taste-testing and publicizing for months and I so wish I could up in Bernal Heights with her on Friday. Alas, I am moving from my apartment to my mom's house in Orange County for a couple of months until I find my dream apartment :-) Thus, there is no new recipe this week, but I did find a delicious one I must try: Pumpkin Spice Latte from Recipe Girl. How amazing does this sound?

pumpkin spice latte
Yield: 1 drink
Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 4 min
Do It Yourself version of Starbuck's delicious Pumpkin Spice Latte...

Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon unsweetened canned pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup hot brewed, strong coffee
2 tablespoons half & half cream
1 teaspoon granulated white sugar, or more to taste
whipped cream, optional
ground nutmeg

Directions:
1. In a glass measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl, whisk together milk, pumpkin, brown sugar, spice and vanilla. Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes- watch closely and remove it from the microwave when the milk is hot and frothy.

2. Pour the pumpkin milk into a tall mug or glass. Add hot coffee. Pour in the cream. Add a teaspoon of sugar. Stir, and taste. Add more sugar, if desired.

3. Optional, but oh so good... add whipped cream on top and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Serve immediately!

Tips:
*Feel free to lighten up the recipe by using nonfat milk and fat-free half & half. It won't be as rich, but it will still give you that yummy pumpkin latte flavor.

*If you don't have pumpkin pie spice in your collection of spices, make your own! Mix equal parts of cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg- and measure from there.

Source: RecipeGirl.com

What To Do with All that Leftover Pumpkin

  

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

BUNS

2¼ tsp active dry yeast
¼ c warm water

3/4 c pumpkin puree (I used fresh, but canned also works just fine)
2 tbsp margarine, melted

2 c flour, plus more for dusting
2 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt

FILLING
½ c packed brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
¼ c margarine, melted

ICING
1 tsp margarine
1 tsp vanilla
1½ c powdered sugar
2 tbsp water

In a small bowl, stir yeast into warm water; set aside to proof. 

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, nutmeg and salt. Add pumpkin puree and margarine to your foamy yeast mixture; blend well. Make a well in your dry mix and add liquid, stirring to incorporate. Knead for a couple of minutes until smooth, adding extra flour a little bit at a time as needed to keep it from sticking to everything. (Don’t add too much or your rolls will end up tough!) Gently poke the dough with your index finger; if the indent bounces back, you’re good to go.

Cover tightly with plastic, set in a warm, draft-free place, and go work on that cook zine you’ve always meant to finish for an hour while your dough rises. Once it’s about doubled, punch it down and roll out until it’s rectangular and about ¼-½” thick. Slather with melted margarine and sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the top.

Applying slight pressure, roll it up like a jelly roll. Firmly saw through the roll with a serrated knife. Basically, if you want wide, squat buns with a ton of rings, roll it up the long way and make thinner slices; if you’d rather have more, taller buns, roll it up the short way and make thicker slices. Arrange in a pan (9×13″ for squatter buns, else a 9″ cake pan); it’s okay for there to be a little bit of room between the rolls, as they’ll expand into each other and create that nice pull-away effect. Cover and set in a warm place to rise for another 40 minutes. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes.

While the buns bake, whisk together icing ingredients until smooth. Let sit at room temperature (refrigeration will make it difficult to pour). Drizzle generously onto warm buns. 

This recipe re-posted from Hell Yeah It's Vegan! (These were a bit dry for me, so make sure you are really careful about not overworking the dough. More icing always helps too.)

Vegan Chocolate Chip/Raisin Pumpkin Cupcakes

Even though that picture is really awful, these cupcakes are the bomb. Canned pumpkin tends to get really gummy when you overmix it, so try to only stir the batter about 3 times once you've added the pumpkin in at the end. You will not regret it. 

WHAT YOU NEED

1/3 c canola oil

2/3 c granulated, white sugar
1/3 c brown sugar

1/4 c soymilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp gound nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 c chocolate chips

3/4 c raisins

1 c pureed pumpkin

ICING
1 tsp margarine
1 tsp vanilla
1½ c powdered sugar
2 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper cups

Stir together the first 5 ingredients (from the oil to vanilla)

In another bowl sift together the remaining dry ingredients. Do not mix in the raisins, chocolate chips, or pumpkin yet.

Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients by hand with a fork. Do not use a mixer.

Add in pumpkin, chocolate chips, and raisins. Try to stir as little as possible, just enough to incorporate everything and no more.

Fill the muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 23-25 minutes. Cupcakes should be firm to the touch, but still moist and delicious.

After they've cooled, I'm happy to glaze them with the same stuff I used to make the cinnamon rolls. 

This recipe is a modified version from food.com.